Nikita Hair Charleston Salon Sees Great Success, Owner Aims to Open More

The new Nikita Hair location in Charleston, South Carolina, has been open for a few months, and operations are going fantastic. The opening of the salon, part of a 150-plus-unit salon group, has impacted the market in the area, where there has been a big need for the luxury services offered by Nikita Hair’s world-renowned hairdressers.

“Most of the competition includes companies like Super Cuts or Sports Cuts, and the closest real salon is about 15 minutes away. He saw a gap that we could take advantage of,” Tyler Young, salon manager, coordinator and recruitment manager, said of his boss, franchise owner Sagar Chauhan.

Chauhan is a serial entrepreneur who also owns several other business ventures, including gas stations, convenience stores and car washes. He moved to the U.S. from India and is a big family man who wants to create generational wealth for his daughters. His new investment with Nikita has kept him busy — he is already planning the opening a second salon.

The Charleston location opened its doors in May and has already seen such great success — the salon has had progressive sales every week – that Chauhan and Young are confident they can emulate its achievements in multiple salons.

“When we go into new locations, it will get easier every time because we have taken the opportunity to use this first time to get things right and iron out the kinks. So the next rollouts can be easy, and we will have our own mini network of salons,” explained Young.

Chauhan and Young have formed a very collaborative partnership, where Chauhan can focus on big-term goals and business growth because Young handles managing the team, the salon book, retail and marketing.

A former hairstylist, Young said he has loved the role so far. “I thrive in a leadership position where I can show my operational muscles. I'm incredibly organized and love creating processes and standards. I enjoy being a liaison and advocate for the hairstylists,” he said. “A salon is a hive, and every little chair is its own mini-brain, so it's like managing a small community.”

Young prides himself on the fact that they have built a diverse staff at the Charleston salon, with hairdressers of all genders, races and religions that know how to work on all hair types. And he is excited to work alongside Chauhan, helping him scale his Nikita Hair operations and continuing to build teams of talented stylists at each location.